Latest Briefs for RV Parks and Campgrounds

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert says his state does a better job than federal managers and has a bigger stake than the bureaucrats in protecting the natural resources and rugged beauty that drives Utah’s outdoor recreation and tourism industry.

Herbert, the chairman of the Western Governors’ Association, was the lone witness to testify in Washington on Tuesday before a congressional subcommittee examining the role of state and federal governments in managing national parks, forests and public rangelands.

The Republican governor says no one understands state challenges and demographics better than the people who reside and govern there. He says federal managers are hamstrung by regulatory and statutory frameworks that keep them from effectively addressing pressing needs, including rapid declines in the health of national forests and rangelands.

IOWA

From the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier:

George Wyth State Park closed Tuesday night (May 21) due to flooding from the Cedar River.

Campers who had reservations were being contacted and offered a full refund, said Kevin Szcodronski, chief of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources State Parks Bureau.

The weather forecast may allow for the park and campground to be reopened on Saturday morning.

“Campers have option of taking a wait and see approach until later in the week when they can either have a refund for the nights the campground is closed or cancel the entire reservation,” Szcodronski said.

ALBERTA

From the Calgary Herald:

The Victoria Day long weekend has concluded in alberta with few problems at the province’s leading national park.

“It was a pretty good long weekend,” said Michelle Macullo, spokeswoman for Banff National Park.

More than 11,000 people passed through Banff’s east gates, which were steady all weekend, while hundreds of people visited the information centre and the newly reopened Cave and Basin historic site.

The site, which reopened Friday after being closed for renovations for three years, recorded more than 4,000 visitors during the past four days.

Over the long weekend, Macullo said, there were no reports of damage or major incidents at the campgrounds — a number that has been decreasing steadily since an alcohol ban was implemented in the park a few years ago.

The proposal would give the state Department of Administration and the state Building Commission, which Walker chairs, broad authority to sell or lease state property “with or without the approval of the agency with jurisdiction over the property.”

Democrats on the committee called the proposal “breathtaking” and confirmed, through questioning of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau’s Al Runde, that most property owned by the state, except state parks and lands owned by the state Department of Natural Resources, could be sold or leased, under the proposal.

VERMONT

From WCAX-TV, Burlington:

There’s going to be a greater police presence at a Vermont state park.

Park officials say an increase in nighttime noise and activities has prompted the initiative at Lake Bomoseen State Park in Castleton.

A contract is in the works with Castleton Police, who will be hired by the park for a summer fee of about $7,000. There will be one officer on duty, who will conduct a seven-hour foot patrol throughout the park.

Castleton Police Chief Bruce Sherwin says in previous summers, the police would only drive through the parks.

The patrols will mostly happen in the evening time and on weekends in response to noise issues regarding drinking parties.

The park will be open Memorial Day weekend.

CALIFORNIA

From the Agoura Hills Patch:

Camping areas and trails in Point Mugu State Park damaged by the massive Springs Fire will reopen this week.

The Sycamore Campground, Point Mugu State Park back country area, Chumash Trail head parking, the La Jolla Group Camp and La Jolla Day Use will all reopen May 24, according to Craig Sap, superintendent for California State Parks Angeles District.

Some trails in the Point Mugu State Park back country will remain closed, Sap said.

The Camarillo Springs fire began near the 101 Freeway and raced down to Pacific Coast Highway at Point Mugu. Thousands of acres of State and National Park lands were scorched. Volunteer efforts to weed out non-native plants are ongoing.

ARIZONA

From a news release:

Phoenix-based Cavco Industries Inc. will release earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013 on Thursday (May 23) after the market closes.